


And It Sounds Like Drumming

by tydes



Category: Andi Mack (TV), Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, F/F, Hadestown AU, M/M, T.J goes by Thelonious in this I'm sorry in advanced, Whatever the opposite of slow burn is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 19:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20233408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tydes/pseuds/tydes
Summary: Cyrus was a hungry young boy. A runaway, from every place he'd ever been. He was no stranger to the world.Thelonious was a poor boy, but he had a gift to give. One might say he was naïve to the ways of the world.What happens when they fall in love?[Tyrus + Hadestown AU!]





	And It Sounds Like Drumming

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on the Broadway musical Hadestown, which is based off of a story from Greek mythology. Here's a quick character rundown:  
Cyrus = Eurydice  
Thelonious (T.J) = Orpheus  
Buffy = Hermes  
Andi = Persephone  
Amber = Hades
> 
> you can click [ here ](https://tyrus-tide.tumblr.com/post/186968206475/tyrus-hadestown-au-cyrus-goodman-as-eurydice) to see character moodboards inspired by the story! hope you enjoy :)

The earth was swallowed by blazing summer heat, and had been for almost six months. For too long, the world had lived without spring or autumn. It simply shifted from the sweltering summer, to the bitter cold of winter. There seemed to be word of a new storm or disaster every day. The people were sick. Starving. Suffering. Cyrus was all too familiar with the state of the world, for he had travelled so much of it. Though he was young, he'd spent nearly all of his life on the run. He could trust no one, at least, not for prolonged amounts of time; and at the end of the day, it was just easier to only have one mouth to feed. During times like these, loneliness was not an emotion one could dwell on if they wanted to survive. At least, that's what Cyrus believed. He shifted where he sat on the warm concrete, back resting against the stone building behind him. He stretched slightly, almost leaning into the heat from the sun above. He knew that in a few weeks, the warmth would be long gone, and he wanted to savor it while there was still a chance. 

A short distance away, a heat mirage made the air shimmer above iron railroad tracks. Another young man, Thelonious, walked with his mentor and guardian, Buffy. Buffy was the Goddess of many things, but most notably, the Goddess of travel. She oversaw the railway to Hadestown, guiding people on their journey to the world below. Thelonious was a muse's son, abandoned by his parents at a young age. Buffy had taken him under her wing, and always looked out for the naïve, sensitive boy. As they walked the cobbled road together, Thelonious spotted Cyrus at the end of the street. He felt a sudden flurry of emotions. He didn't know what came over him, but it was like he'd always known the boy. His breath caught in his chest and his heartbeat sped. His childhood had been peppered with stories of soulmates, and of love at first sight. Thelonious had always assumed that such love was reserved only for gods and goddesses, but now he felt destined to talk to this boy. He needed to know him, to love him. 

"Buffy, who's that?" He asked, pointing towards Cyrus. 

"Him? I'm not sure. A lonely traveler it seems," Buffy responded. 

"Oh..." Thelonious replied softly. Some may have mistaken that response to be one of disinterest, but Buffy noticed the curious, wide-eyed expression that lingered on his face. 

"Do you want to go talk to him?" Buffy pressed, as they got closer. 

"Yes! But what do I say?" Thelonious answered. 

"Whatever you'd like. Just don't come on too strong, Thelonious," Buffy cautioned. They approached Cyrus, and Buffy nudged Thelonious forwards slightly so he was stood above him. 

"Come home with me?" was Thelonious' opening line. Buffy cringed to herself. So much for subtlety. Cyrus' eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

"Who are you?" He asked. 

"The man who's bound to marry you! I'm Thelonious." Cyrus squinted in disbelief. 

"Is he always like this?" He scoffed, turning to Buffy. 

"Yes," Buffy deadpanned. Cyrus shrugged. 

"I'm Cyrus," he said, pushing himself up so he was standing too. 

"Your name is like a melody!" Thelonious exclaimed with an excited grin. 

"Ah, you're a singer," Cyrus guessed. 

"I also play the lyre." 

"Oh so you're a liar and a player too! I've met a lot of men like you," Cyrus quipped back, and crossed his arms.

"No! That's not what I-" 

"He's not like any man you've ever met," Buffy interrupted before Thelonious could talk himself into a deeper hole. 

"Is that so?" Cyrus challenged 

"Tell Cyrus what you're working on." 

"A song," Thelonious answered

"A song?" Cyrus parroted, unimpressed. 

"Yes, a song! And when it's finished, spring will come." 

"Spring?! There's hasn't been a spring in- well, I can't remember when." Cyrus' detached resolve began to crack upon hearing such a promise. 

"Yes I know, that's what the song is for! It will fix everything. It will restore the balance of the seasons." Thelonious insisted. 

"Well let's hear it then!" 

"It-it's not finished yet," Thelonious corrected nervously. 

"You want me to be your husband?" Cyrus questioned, with a raised eyebrow. 

"Yes!" Thelonious gasped 

"Well I want to hear your song!" Cyrus countered. Thelonious' eyes widened at Cyrus' insistence. He took a step back, breathing slowly. He closed his eyes and focused for a moment, letting a melody overtake him. On a gentle exhale, he sang the refrain that came to his mind. The space around them was filled with the sweet sound of Thelonious' voice. It left a tangible feeling in the air, something that made Buffy reel in shock, and Cyrus gasp in astonishment. As the melody ended, a red carnation appeared in Thelonious' hand, the bright color intensely contrasting with their bland surroundings. He gently reached out and grabbed Cyrus' hand, pressing the flower stem into his palm. 

"How did you do that?" Cyrus asked breathlessly as he took the flower. 

"I don't know. But the song isn't finished..." Thelonious trailed off 

"You have to finish it! If it can do this already, surely when it's finished it will bring us all we need!" Cyrus exclaimed. He tucked the red flower behind his ear before running off, disappearing from their view. Thelonious stared at the place where Cyrus once stood, smiling dazedly, before Buffy interrupted: 

"Where did you learn that melody?!" 

"I didn't I just- it came to me. Like I've always known it." 

"You have. It was a song of love from a long time ago..." 

** *** **

  
Andi stood tall under the summer sky, flowers woven into locks of her hair. Though she was the Goddess of spring, it had been a long time since she'd graced the world with springtide blossoms. For half the year, she stood upon the surface, filling the world with summertime, and the other half, she returned to Hadestown and let the world frost over. Hadestown was the underworld. The afterlife. The land beyond. Andi's wife, Amber was the queen of Hadestown, the goddess of the underworld. When they first wed, Andi had loved Amber dearly, but at times she longed to stand under the warm sun and feel the earthy breeze wrap around her once again. So she found balance, and after months on the surface, Andi had always found herself eager to be back in the arms of her beloved. These days, however, she dreaded her return to Hadestown. She wished for the six summer months to crawl by, or that maybe Amber would forget about her, and she'd never have to go back. Times were hard, and life was long. The love these two Goddesses once shared had been lost somewhere in spirals of time. Andi turned when she heard footsteps in the dry grass behind her.

"Amber. You're early," Andi said, poorly suppressing a grimace. 

"I missed you," Amber whined, though her expression was cold and unfeeling. They returned to Hadestown arm-in-arm, a formality at this point. In their wake the world froze over with another sudden, harsh winter. Andi took in the state of Hadestown and felt a heaviness overcome her. The air was dark and oppressively thick. Lost looking workers slaved away, hunched over and avoiding eye contact. And the unbearable heat. She tried to fan herself off, but all it did was move the hot air around uselessly. 

"It's supposed to be the coldest time of year, why is it so insufferably hot?!" She complained. 

"It's the foundries, dear. The factories. A lot has changed since you were last here. Don't be so bleak, this heat is my love for you. You know I do all of this for you!" Amber responded. Andi sighed and said nothing in return. She peered over to where workers were curled into lines, hammering, and mining. Laying stones where the river Styx once lay. The weary hands, commanded by Amber, were building a wall in the barren river-bed. A tall, formidable wall, made of heavy stone and sharp wire. To keep the enemy out. The enemy was poverty, and Amber's war against it would never end. There would always be more wall to build, more oil to refine, more power grids to run, more mines to empty. Amber promised freedom to those suffering on earth. She told them the wall was freedom, and they believed her because they couldn't look up long enough to see what the world could be.

** *** **

"I've never seen the sky like this before," Cyrus said apprehensively. He glanced back over his shoulder when he was given no response, "Thelonious, did you hear me?" He asked. The goddess Amber had come to take her wife back to Hadestown early, sending the world into winter before it was ready. It had launched Thelonious into a frenzy, finally realizing what was wrong with the world. It was the gods. They'd forgotten their song of love, and he needed to remind them. But to do that, he had to keep working to finish the song, so that's all he did. He was so preoccupied with it that he neglected Cyrus, and failed to notice the oncoming storm.

Despite Cyrus' instincts, he had fallen deeply in love with Thelonious. For so much of his life, all he'd cared about was survival. Love seemed only to be something that stood in the way of that. But it had been hard to resist Thelonious' hypnotizing melodies, and his promises of spring flowers. Of silver and gold. Of bending trees and feathers to sleep on. Every doubt that Cyrus had, every question about how they could make it, as penniless as they were, was answered with a promise that Thelonious' song would fix everything. And Cyrus believed him. He always kept with him the red flower that bloomed in Thelonious' hand on the day they met. When he looked at it, he remembered the way it felt to be held by Thelonious, like there was sunlight all around them. And he tried to see what the world could be, the world Thelonious was determined to create. But on days like these, it was a difficult task. When the threatening winter winds beat against the door, and the hunger burned in Cyrus' stomach, he struggled to believe in Thelonious is. Most days it seemed his song would never be finished. 

"We need food! We need firewood!" Cyrus spoke aloud, but he knew he worries were falling on deaf ears. "Will your song shelter us from this storm?!" 

He left Thelonious to his work, searching high and low for food. For anything. There was nothing to be found, the world had no more resources to give. The winds whipped around Cyrus with a new kind of harshness, and he felt dread sinking in beside the hunger in his stomach. The storm was here, and it wasn't merciful. Freezing winds seeped into his bones. He flinched, curling into himself for warmth. 

"Thelonious!" He desperately called, "Can't you hear me?!" it was useless. "I thought it was supposed to be the two of us together, but... here I am alone." He murmured pitifully to himself and closed his eyes. Time passed, it may have been moments, or hours or days. The storm finally seemed to settle. Cyrus heard a full laugh behind him. 

"Let me guess...some poor poet promised you all their love. Yet his words are useless when there's nothing to eat!" Cyrus peered up at the figure looming above him. Long blonde hair framed her sneering face. She stood purposefully, arms crossed and hip cocked. There was no mistaking her identity. It was the Goddess of the underworld herself. 

"Why- what do you-" Cyrus couldn't seem speak properly, still reeling from the recent storm. 

"Poor little song bird. You know, you don't have to stay in the cold," Amber interrupted. Her voice was sickly-sweet. 

"What do you mean?" Cyrus was tempted by the thought. 

"Hadestown, my dear, you'd be a diamond in the mines down there. I can bring you freedom. You'll never feel hungry again," Amber promised. Cyrus stared up at her in awe, considering her offer. The idea seemed so appealing. He could follow Amber, and everything would be okay. She could give him a soft place to land. He wouldn't have to run anymore, he could just rest. In his heart he ached for Thelonious, but the pangs of hunger in his stomach screamed louder, and fought harder. What was the right decision? Cyrus wanted to believe in love, but he was far more familiar with hunger. He looked up at Amber once more with pleading eyes. 

"What do I have to do?"

** *** **

With a ticket in his shaking hand, Cyrus boarded the train to Hadestown. Buffy looked at him with pity, but said nothing. He hugged his knees to his chest as the train departed, calling out for Thelonious one last time. He begged for his love to forgive him, to understand. He hoped for his love to hear him, but it would be days before Thelonious would compose the song's final notes. When he emerged from his stupor at last, he couldn't celebrate the song's completion, for Cyrus was nowhere to be found. He ran to the railroad station.

"Buffy!" 

"Wow, long time, no see. Aren't you working on your masterpiece?" Buffy questioned, with a note of bitterness. 

"Where's Cyrus?!" He asked, desperately. 

"What do you care? I'm sure you can find another muse." 

"Where is he? I'll go where ever he goes!" Thelonious asserted. Buffy raised an eyebrow, surprised by how much Cyrus had meant to him.

"What if I told you he's down below?" She challenged. 

"Down below?"

"In Hadestown. He left days ago. He called your name as he descended. I guess you weren't listening," Buffy answered. 

"Well I have to go get him!" Thelonious exclaimed 

"You have a ticket?" Buffy asked, nodding to the train tracks behind her. 

"I don't..." 

"I figured as much. Luckily for you, there's another way, if you're up for the challenge." 

"Tell me what it is!" Thelonious demanded, nearly tripping over himself in urgency.

"You have to walk the road no one's ever walked before. It's dark, dangerous, unforgiving. If you're not careful it can take your soul. You still wanna go?"

"With all my heart!" Thelonious insisted. Buffy told him the way, doing her best to prepare him for the dangers ahead. With the dark of night to shield him, Thelonious began his journey. His footsteps drummed off the thick, stone walls as he sprinted down the long road.

"Wait for me, Cyrus!" he shouted into the void ahead, "I'm coming with you!" 

** *** **

  
Amber greeted Cyrus as soon as he entered Hadestown and whisked him away to sign papers that confirmed his arrival. When they finished, Andi lead Cyrus to the mines, where he was to start working. Cyrus felt an uneasiness within him as he watched workers with their hammers and pickaxes. They were hunched over, chanting a repetitive tune. They stopped at a rack of tools, and Cyrus hesitantly lifted a pickaxe and turned it over in his hands.

"I'm Cyrus," he said, turning to the workers standing near him. They did not acknowledge his words at all. "Can't you hear me?" He asked them, raising his voice slightly. 

"They can, but they don't care. Nobody has a name down here," Andi said, flatly, grabbing Cyrus' elbow and leading him towards his work station. Cyrus continued to observe the workers as they walked, none of them even lifted their heads as they passed. 

"Why won't anybody look at me?" He asked, uneasiness still tugging in his gut. 

"They can look, but they don't see. You'll be like them soon enough," Andi answered, with the same unaffected tone she'd used before. 

"What do you mean?!" Cyrus demanded. Andi rolled her eyes. 

"That's what it looks like to forget. As time goes on, you'll forget who you are, and everything that came before," Cyrus' chest seized in fear. 

"No! I- I have to go back?!" 

"Go back? Back where? Oh and while we're at it, what's your name again?" She asked. Cyrus froze. He couldn't answer her. He didn't know. For a moment, Andi almost seemed overwhelmed by pity, "See. You can't even remember." She shoved Cyrus into his work station, and he fell in line with the others. "You signed your life away. You're trapped here now, but you'll call it freedom soon enough." Andi hesitated, before turning to walk away. She couldn't mourn for the souls lost to her wife's greed, or she'd be mourning forever. 

As time dragged on in Hadestown, Cyrus fought to cling onto whatever memories he could. Sometimes he couldn't remember why he did, but something deep inside him kept forcing him to hold onto anything he could remember from his life before this. He worked all day, head ducked down, and he thought of flowers. There were flowers in his memory. A field them of them. Red, and soft beneath his heels. He remembered someone standing next to him, walking beside him. Their figure was just a fuzzy outline in his mind, but Cyrus knew that someone was there. He'd left someone behind. Someone who he missed. He could feel the ache in his heart if he focused hard enough. Who's were the arms that held him? The hands that squeezed his own? Who's was the heart that loved him before he signed his life away? Cyrus pleaded that they would come for him. His pleas were answered soon enough, when gentle hands grabbed his shoulders, forced him to stand upright, and turned him around. Cyrus looked, and then he saw. It was him. It was- Thelonious! Cyrus remembered! 

"It's you!" He gasped. 

"It's me," Thelonious assured.

"Thelonious…" Cyrus sighed and reached up to stroke his lover's cheek. 

"Cyrus." Thelonious ducked down to rest his forehead on top of Cyrus'. 

"I cried for you, Thelonious!" Cyrus recalled. 

"I know, Buffy told me everything. This is all my fault, you called for me!" Thelonious exclaimed, sorrowfully. 

"And you came! Don't blame yourself," Cyrus soothed. "Did you come here on the train?" 

"No I walked, and I sang. The song was so beautiful that the stones wept and let me in. I can do the same to take us home!" Thelonious enthused. Cyrus pulled back from him, and looked away. 

"You can't..." he whispered. 

"I can! I will!" Thelonious promised.

"No, you don't understand!" Before Cyrus could explain any further, Amber seemed to appear in front of them. Her eyes scanned over Thelonious, sizing him up. 

"Unemployed! You don't belong here!" Amber snapped, voice saturated with rage. 

"Wait, Amber! I know this boy. He's Buffy's ward!" Andi interrupted, running up behind her wife. 

"Get out of here! Trespasser!" Amber continued her diatribe, ignoring Andi's words. 

"His name is Thelonious!" Andi still tried to get through to the queen. 

"Andi, stay out of this!" Amber shouted. 

"I won't leave alone! I came to take him home!" Thelonious insisted, grabbing Cyrus' hand. Amber scoffed, tossing her head back. 

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Take him home?! Please! He couldn't go anywhere if he tried. He signed his life away to me!" Amber taunted. Thelonious choked on his  
breath in disbelief. 

"It isn't true..." He said weakly, looking at Cyrus. Cyrus wouldn't mean his eyes. 

"It is." He whispered. 

"He belongs to me!" Amber exclaimed. 

"I do," Cyrus confirmed, brokenly.  


** *** **

  
Thelonious couldn't bring himself to leave. He'd overstayed his already non-existent welcome, but he wouldn't leave Cyrus behind. They stood silently together, holding each other, not knowing what to do next. They watched the lines of workers, with their downcast eyes. As Thelonious became overwhelmed with despair, he couldn't contain the emotions within him anymore. He began to sing. He sang about his pain, his fear. And as he did, something remarkable happened. The workers began to hear him, and the melody couldn't be ignored. Slowly, they stood, dropped their tools and watched Thelonious, listened to his music. Before, the workers were constantly chanting songs about staying low, about being free, about working. But suddenly, they started mimicking Thelonious' melody. They repeated his refrains, his words of anger towards Amber. They repeated his cries, his insistence that this was not freedom. They took his words to heart, and began coming back to themselves.

"We stand with him!" The workers suddenly chanted instead of echoing Thelonious' sentiments. For the first time since their lives were taken, they stood up tall. They looked around and locked eyes with each other. They remembered their names. The goddess of spring watched this rebirth from a distance, before returning to her wife. 

"He loves that boy, Amber," she said, "If only you had heard the way he sang for Cyrus." 

"That boy means nothing to me!" Amber snapped. 

"I know! But he means everything to him!" Andi burst out, "Amber, you should have heard him sing. Oh, the love that filled his voice! It's the kind of love you and I once had..." She added, sadly. Amber did not respond. Instead, she stormed off to confront Thelonious, and the crowd of distracted workers

"The fact that you're still here makes me wonder: are you brave, or just plain stupid?!" Amber bellowed as she cut through the crowd. "I'd send you away right now," Amber began, "but my wife is quite fond of your song. So go on, son. Impress me. One last song before I send you to where you'll never sing again!" Andi caught up with Amber just as she finished her threat. She said nothing, just looked at Thelonious pleadingly. He took a deep breath, before breathing out the words to his song. The song was one that told a story. It was about Amber, and the story of how she fell in love with her goddess of spring. In a soft, bright garden, she watched Andi gather bundles of flowers under the glow of sunlight. She held her breath to hear her beloved's sweet humming that seemed to harmonize with the mild breeze. After the lyrics of exposition, Thelonious transitioned into the familiar melody. The one he'd sung to Cyrus on the day they met. When Amber heard it, she jumped in alarm.

"Where did you get that melody?!" She demanded, heart pounding. 

"Let him finish, Amber." Andi softly instructed. Thelonious repeated the melody, without faltering. He continued relaying the story through his song. The weight that settled  
over Amber as she ruled Hadestown. The greed she succumbed to, and how their song of love was forgotten. His song was forgiving, though, and the painful parts of the story were softened with the return of the refrain. The song of love. Thelonious watched Cyrus the entire time. His love for Cyrus gave him the inspiration he needed to convey a song filled with tenderness. As he repeated the refrain, the workers started to join in. Voices came together, echoing his melody. They grew louder, singing to merge the rift between Amber and Andi. Two Goddesses, one ruling death, and one bringing new life. Opposing forces rejoining their hearts in harmony. As the music surrounded her, Amber was reminded of the deep love that was still within her. She faced Andi, and reached for her hands. As the song came to its end, Amber inhaled fully, and herself sang one last refrain, copying Thelonious' melody with rich cadence. In her hand, a red carnation materialized. She held it out to Andi, who took the flower and tucked it back behind Amber's ear. They met in a long, deep embrace, almost as if to make up for the lost time. 

"Thelonious, you finished the song!" Cyrus cheered.

"Yes, what do we do now?" Thelonious asked. 

"We go home! We'll walk, you can show me the way." Cyrus exclaimed 

"But what about her?" Thelonious questioned, looking towards Amber. 

"Look at her, she'll let us go! She has to!" 

"And what about them?" Thelonious asked again, gesturing to the workers, still crowded nearby. 

"They will follow us! We'll show them the way to true freedom!" Cyrus has never been so full of optimism before. He was determined, hopeful. Thelonious approached Amber,  
and asked: 

"Will you let us go?" And Amber, the goddess of the underworld, paused for a moment and responded: 

"I don't know."  


** *****

  
Amber paced back and fourth, deep in debate with herself. What was she to do? If she forced Cyrus to stay, Amber would be seen as cruel, and Cyrus would become a martyr, which could inspire a riot. If she let him go, she would be seen as a spineless leader, and her power would be gone. Her love for Andi may have been restored, but once someone gets a taste of the power and wealth that Amber had, they'd be hesitant to let it go completely. Amber was still queen of the underworld, after all. She needed a kingdom to rule when all of this was over. Buffy stood in the corner of the room and watched Amber toil over the decision. Waiting to relay it to Thelonious and Cyrus. Suddenly, Amber's face lit up.

"Oh! I know what I will do! I'll simply allow the nature of a man in love to run it's course. Men are weak! You give them the rope, they hang themselves." Amber epiphanized, pleased with her realization. She turned to face Buffy, and laid out her terms 

** *****

  
Cyrus and Thelonious waited eagerly as Buffy approached. "Well," Buffy started, "he said you can go."

"Really!?" Thelonious asked, jumping to his feet. 

"Yes. But there are conditions." 

"Conditions?" Cyrus asked, nervously. 

"You can walk, but not together. Thelonious, you must go first, with Cyrus walking behind. If you turn around to check that he's following you, then he goes back to  
Hadestown, permanently." 

"It's a trap!" Thelonious cried. 

"It's a trial." Buffy corrected, "You have to trust each other. Trust yourselves. Can you do that?" 

"We can." Cyrus stated firmly. Buffy turned to Thelonious. 

"You've walked this road before. You know it's challenges, you can handle them. The real challenge is in your mind. It's the doubt in your head that you have to fight. If you can conquer that you'll make it out." Buffy advised, sagely. "Now go, you must leave now." Thelonious turned to face the road, before turning back once more. 

"Buffy... It's not a trick?" 

"No. It's a test."  


** *** **

  
"Do you think they'll make it?" Andi asked, her head was resting on Amber's shoulder. They stood together at the railway station.

"I don't know..." Amber admitted 

"I can't believe you let them go," Andi confessed. 

"I let them try..." 

"And what about us? Are we gonna try again?" Andi asked 

"It's time for spring. We'll try again this fall. I'll wait for you." Amber promised, squeezing her arm tighter around Andi's shoulders. Andi stepped away and gave Amber a  
lingering look, before boarding the train. It was time to bring spring to the world once again. 

** *****

  
The path was dark. Darker than it has seemed the first time Thelonious had walked it. The sounds of their footsteps bounced of the wall like warning drumbeats. Thelonious sang his refrain to himself to calm his nerves, but the way it echoed off the walls was almost mocking. Doubt was setting in.

"Who do I think I am? Who am I to think he'd ever follow me into such a cold, dark place?" Thelonious began to voice his doubts aloud. From behind, Cyrus could barely make out Thelonious' figure, but he followed without faltering. 

"Thelonious, are you listening? I'm right here. I won't go anywhere." Cyrus tried to reassure his love. Thelonious was too lost is in his own head to hear Cyrus from behind. He felt sick, his stomach churned. He clenched his fists as waves of panic and dread crashed over him. 

"Who am I against her? Why would she just let us go? Who am I to think she wouldn't deceive me?!" He was panicking now, wondering where Cyrus was. Desperate to know if he was still behind him, or if he had abandoned him. A voice in his head told Thelonious that he deserved to be abandoned, that Cyrus would be crazy to follow him anywhere. Was Cyrus there? Was he still there? 

"Thelonious! I'm right behind you. You're not alone," Cyrus called ahead once more, but it was too late. Doubt sunk in. Cyrus gasped as Thelonious turned around. They froze  
and stared at each other for a moment as the weight of what Thelonious had done rolled over them.

"It's you" Thelonious whispered, bewildered, pained. Cyrus felt tears pool in the corners of his eyes. His chest ached.

"It's me," he responded, voice cracking, "Thelonious..." He whimpered as the ground shifted, pulling him back to Hadestown. 

"Cyrus!" Thelonious cried and stumbled forwards, sinking to his knees as Cyrus disappeared before him. He stayed on the ground for a long time, staring into the empty space where his beloved had just stood. Sobs tore through his chest and his tears stained the ground beneath him. He had failed. Cyrus was gone. Nobody would be free. The Goddess of the Underworld had won. Thelonious had once believed that his song would save the world. That once the seasons were restored again, the world would thank him, and he would celebrate. But that day, the day that spring returned, Thelonious did not celebrate, 

he mourned.

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember to like, comment and share, I'd love to hear from you! I put my heart and soul into this fic honestly so I hope you liked it <3 
> 
> my tumblr is tyrus-tide come say hi!!


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